All posts tagged ‘Tangled’

In a non-descript building, in a hidden location, lies the Disney Animation Research Library. Imagine, if you will, a repository where animators can visit and research every note scribbled napkin or original art cel created by a Disney artist. It exists somewhere in California and I had a chance to visit it. Here is what we discovered in the cartoon knowledge bank.

Scanning

Scanning Room

One huge undertaking that they perform at the Research Library is the scanning of artwork. All of the images that you get in those bonus features on the re-released versions of Disney classics come from here. The researchers here have multiple scanners working around the clock to record every piece of artwork that has ever been created during the production of an animated Disney movie. Another major reason for this is for the next generation coming through the ranks. If any researcher ever needs to see a piece or investigate production notes, they are saved in the highest definition- ready for viewing – while the originals remain safe in the vault. Continue Reading “A Look Inside the Real Disney Vault” »

Tangled was one of the first Disney movies made after the buyout of Pixar and I think it’s safe to say it was one of the best to come from the house of mouse in a long time, thanks in part I’m sure to the influence of John Lasseter. There aren’t many films that can make me blub – the opening montage of Up is a real tear jerker, but Finding Nemo was first movie ever that made me well up from the sheer beauty of what was on the screen and the sky lantern scene in Tangled has been the closest I’ve come to that again. So, when I saw that this new Tangled Storybook Deluxe app included a game based on that scene, I was intrigued to see how they’d translate it.

It’s quite a hefty app, weighing in just over 250Mb (and that’s without retina display quality images too) so you’ll want to use your wi-fi to download it, but as soon as you start it up you can see where all those bits have gone. The full screen, sumptuous images are there from the beginning at the menu screen where you given three choices of how to use the app – Follow Along, Read and Explore or Play. They’re fairly self explanatory – the first just reads the story out to you, the second allows you to go at your own pace and experience all the extras, and the last option just gives you all activities.

Tilt your iDevice and Rapunzel swings on her hair

The illustration style is quite pleasing on the eye, mostly because it doesn’t follow the same 3D rendered route of the movie, but instead goes for a more hand drawn and painted effect. It reminds me of Daniel Lieske’s stunning Wormworld Saga in places.

The whole app is very well put together. Rather than opting for a simple next button tap to turn the page, or even an ever-so-tired-curled page metaphor, the developers have implemented a very slick parallax scrolling effect.

A nicely rendered text panel sits to left, containing the story with the standard highlighting words, and to the right is one of the nice illustrations. When you swipe right-to-left, the text panel slides away and more of the image is revealed – sometimes with a little rotation or change in perspective – and the narration keeps playing.

Every now and then the illustration dissolves into a short clip from the film. Sometimes they become little interactive sections with animations, things to tap or even elements that move when tilt your iPad or iPhone. Another right-to-left swipe moves you on to the next ‘page’ with some more parallax effects and the audio fades through nicely to the next part, never giving a horrible cut.

Even if you’re a parent, I’m sure you don’t need one of our typical “10 Things Parents Should Know” posts about Beauty and the Beast 3D, which opens Friday in theaters all over the United States and Canada. It’s still essentially the same film it was two decades ago, when it was the first animated film ever nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and the only one for the next 18 years. And this time it has a fun, short-film sequel to Tangled as a lead-in, which is just icing on the cake.

Does the 3-D add anything to the film? Not much: The ballroom scene, which made headlines in 1991 for being the first time a Disney animated feature had used computer animation, is more spectacular than before. The “Be Our Guest” sequence — which started out over the top — did pop a bit more than before.

Other than that, I honestly didn’t notice the 3-D much, due, I think, to a combination of my general distaste for 3-D-converted movies and the fact that the folks at Disney held back from doing too much to tweak an already great film. (I’m also pretty sure they dialed up the brightness before converting, so the results aren’t as dark as I’d feared they’d be.) The fact that I hadn’t seen the original version in a movie theater since 1991, and it has so many great visual pieces it really benefits from theater viewing, also helped a lot.

Disney’s latest fairy tale film, Tangled, gets released into theaters on today. The movie is Disney’s take on the Grimm’s fairy tale, Rapunzel, and stars the voices of Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi. Before you head off to the theater, here are a few things parents will want to know about the 50th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

Is it worth paying extra for 3-D?

Not really. There are only a couple of times that the 3-D effect is especially noticable. The rest of the time, the 3-D only helps to set the foreground off from the backgrounds and the difference is negligble. Another downside to the 3-D is that there are quite a few scenes that take place in dimly lit environments. Because the current iteration of 3-D darkens pictures, I think 3-D actually worsened our viewing experience.

This is the first fairy tale movie Disney has created in CGI. Does it look good?

It looks fantastic! The animation is very good. The textures in some places were magnificent, like the frescos and the outdoor environments surrounding Rapunzel’s castle. Disney went to great lengths to try to mimic hand-drawn techniques in its CGI, and used a rendering process that emphasized textures and lighting. I thought it worked really well throughout most of the film.

Will all of my kids like it?

The movie was written especially with boys in mind. Disney knew they’d get the female audience, but wanted to make the film appealing to boys, as well. So there’s plenty of emphasis on the dashing thief, Flynn Rider, in Tangled. What’s more, the movie was originally titled Rapunzel, but was changed to have a greater appeal to boys. In the end, I think it only partly works. My eight-year-old son refused to go, but I think he would have enjoyed it (though not as much as the sci-fi and action movies he prefers now) It will be interesting to see if this strategy pays off for Disney because the audience I watched the movie with was almost entirely moms and daughters.

Is there anything scary?

Nope. First of all, it’s a Disney animated movie, so you should know exactly what to expect. Second, when I saw the film, the audience was largely made up of 4 to 7-year-old girls and I heard no screams, crying or anything else that would make you think anyone was scared.

When’s the best time for a bathroom break?

The movie runs for about 100 minutes and between the continuously flowing stoyline and some fun action scenes, it’s tough to figure out when a good time to sneak away is. I thought the best time for a bathroom break was after the chase scene at about the 50 minute mark when Flynn Rider heads out to get firewood. There’s a scene that builds on a previous scene, so, if you duck out, you won’t have missed much.

Are the songs any good?

One of the hallmarks of any Disney animated film are the songs and this one was no different. There are about a half dozen, a couple of which are sung multiple times. It’s clear that Disney knows how to work them in because they fit seamlessly, without interrupting the flow of the movie. While no song seems instantly classic, our favorite came earlier on when Rapunzel and Flynn visit a tavern, The Snuggly Duckling. It’s a wonderfully fun and memorable scene and an even better song.

Will I want to see it again?

Maybe on DVD. We left the theater and laughed quite a bit about Rapunzel’s quiet chameleon companion, Pascal, who was a bit of a scene-stealer, but after we got home we didn’t talk much about the movie again. Usually if a movie is one we will see again, there is a lot of talk about it for days after.